Tomball wrangles up trail riders at annual celebration

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

It’s that time of year again, time to dust off the boots, put the bend back in the cowboy hat and polish off the belt buckle.

Kaci Kabzinski (left) and Jarrod McElroy (right) take a break to chat during the Sam Houston Trail Rider’s Feb. 20 stop in Tomball.

The 2007 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo kicks off Feb. 27 at Reliant Center with three weeks of roping, wrangling and riding.

To celebrate the kick-off of one of the world’s largest rodeos, the City of Tomball hosted a reception for the Sam Houston Trail Riders, whose annual trek through town has become one of the city’s most popular events.

The caravan of about a dozen wagons and 30-plus horses and mules moseyed on into town Feb. 20, stopping at the Tomball Train Depot for an official reception. There, area residents and city and rodeo officials celebrated the event with live music, barbecue plates and an official welcome by Mayor H.G. “Hap” Harrington.

Pictured, the Texas Cattleman’s trail riders traveled to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Feb. 20 up FM 1774, through the City of Magnolia and turned east onto FM 1488 with six wagons and more than 20 riders.
Photo by Cari Herr

Trail Boss Larry Jollisant presented two local high school students with $1,000 scholarships. The recipients were Cy-Fair’s Melanie Bradley and Magnolia’s Amber Huckeba.

2007 marks the 52nd year the Sam Houston Trail Riders have participated in the trail ride for the rodeo. Their 66-mile trek began on Feb. 19 at 7:30 a.m. at West Montgomery County Park and started south on FM 149. The following morning, the riders set out from Corey Ranch and made their way into Tomball, where they continued on to Spring Creek Park. Their final destination was the annual rodeo parade, held Feb. 24 in downtown Houston.

The Sam Houston Trail Ride is the second longest-running ride in the rodeo. Only the Salt Grass Trail Ride, an 85-mile ride starting in Cat Spring, has been around longer. That ride began in 1952.

Decker Hills homeowners work together to recover $12,000 in funds

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

In the process of recovering more than $12,000 in funds taken by previous board members in October 2006, the Decker Hills Property Owners Association (DHPOA) members have found out that two heads are better than one, and sometimes seven or eight are even better.

Over the last five months, DHPOA board members and officers have struggled to establish community harmony, recover their funds, file new articles of incorporation, pay their bills, and reinstate mail delivery.

Since October 2006, board members have been in a quandary as to how to retrieve their funds from former Secretary Cheryl Patat and former Vice President Michelle Beauchamp. The money was “secured” at a different bank by the two during a power struggle between board members and homeowners that ensued over an election held in July 2006.

In October 2006, board members requested an investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office into the theft of funds by the two women who refused to attend meetings or communicate in person with board officers.

Upon contacting the Attorney General’s Office, the association’s board members were advised to hire an attorney, said Bill Edwards, president of the DHPOA. That was the same advice given to the group by the office of the Secretary of State and other county officials, he said.

“We were stuck in a hard place. They (Patat and Beauchamp) had the money, so we had no financial resource for legal action,” said Edwards.

Homeowners authorized the board members and officers to remove Patat and Beauchamp from office at the Jan. 27 meeting because the women had not appeared at meetings for more than 90 days.

As a result, Secretary Karen Reneau filed new Articles of Incorporation reflecting the new officers and board members with the Secretary of State. Those in turn were provided to the bank, which then released the money via wire transfer to a new bank as approved by the board at the Jan. 27 meeting.

The group did not have the same luck at the United States Post Office. Mail for the DHPOA has also been on hold since October. To put in a change of address would be a felony due to the existing hold. The association will likely have to pay some legal expenses to file a petition in court for a judge’s order to return mail delivery to the association, said Edwards.

Treasurer Amy Powell has had to be creative in paying bills. Making payments online and putting in a temporary change of address are among the few solutions the board has found to address the more than six months worth of mail still sitting at the post office. Receipts for expenses were backtracked by Reneau and Powell via cancelled checks and duplicate receipts were requested from vendors.

“We pulled together as a community and pooled our business knowledge and accounting experience to overcome the issues. Everybody gave a little bit of something,” said Edwards. “There has been a lot of learning in this process, but we can have a decent community. The squeaky wheel works pretty good. You just have to be patient.”

Upon receipt of further evidence, MCSO Det. Joe Sclider will complete his investigation and turn it over to the district attorney who will determine if charges need to be filed for theft of funds.

“If he (the district attorney) does file charges, it will set a precedent for other neighborhoods who may experience this same scenario. That’s how laws get changed,” said Edwards.

‘New’ Magnolia Police Department commended

Silliman named Officer of the Year

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

It was a night of recognition for the Magnolia Police Department at the Feb. 20 meeting of the Magnolia City Council where Eric Silliman was awarded the Officer of the Year award for 2006 by a vote of his peers.

Pictured, (left to right) Lt. Mike Smith and Officer Eric Silliman of the Magnolia Police Department. Silliman was selected by vote of his peers as the Magnolia Police Officer of the Year for 2006.
Photo by Cari Herr

In a Letter of Recognition from Chief Ron Cunningham, read by Lt. Mike Smith, Silliman was commended for going above and beyond the expectations of performance. Smith presented the award in lieu of Cunningham, who was not present due to a death in his family.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for a job well done and would like to present you with the officer of the Year award for 2006,” said Smith.

Mayor Jimmy Thornton also presented a Letter of Commendation from the city to Silliman for exhibiting bravery in the line of duty. He has been with the department since August of 2003.

Lonnie Butzke, owner of Hickory Hollow, addressed the assembly in a letter of appreciation for the conscientious work of Officer Greg Valdez during a January incident involving an unlocked door at the restaurant.

Valdez performed a business check at the restaurant on Jan. 8 at 2:10 a.m. and found the front door unlocked. Valdez contacted Butzke and waited for his arrival to ensure the safety of Butzke and his business. During their conversation, Valdez expressed his concern for the people of Magnolia, Butzke said.

Butzke commended the department for their efforts in the business districts to ensure the safety of businesses, owners and employees. Recent news coverage “lets both the good and the bad know what is happening in our area,” said Butzke. “I have talked to a lot of people and have heard a lot of good comments about our new Magnolia Police Department. Keep up the good work.”

As part of Tomball’s Centennial celebration, the Tomball High School varsity baseball team will wear replica 1907 uniforms for all home games this season. Mayor H.G. “Hap” Harrington and members of the Tomball City Council visited the team Feb. 20 prior to a practice and addressed the squad. Pictured above, David Rhoads (left) and Drake Britton (right) show off their new uniforms.
Photo by Brian Walzel

Park project: Survey set for utility mailing

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

Magnolia city planners are convinced that a 20-acre detention park project is a synergistic approach to drainage and recreation and are moving forward step-by step toward that goal.

A parks survey is set to be included in the next mailing of utility bills for residents of Magnolia and other city service users. Consumers will have a chance to voice their opinion about community parks and recreation needs for the area.

Though Carla Sebesta of Sebesta and Associates, Inc., the grant writer for the city, suggested at the Feb. 20 meeting of the Magnolia Planning Commission that a community park may require as much as 30 acres, the current site is ideal for the project according to several sources.

Carla Sebesta

“There’s no other area available. It comes directly from the 2005 drainage study,” said Denny O’Brien, Planning Commission chairman. “Right now, we’ve made no commitment to do anything different than what we have planned to do.”

The survey offers options for services and special needs for families and requests demographic information, such as age and number of family members, as well as general residency. The survey will provide city planners with information about community needs.

Discussions by Planning Commission members about a detention pond and park on Nichol Sawmill Road have been ongoing for almost two years and include the participation of both the 4A and 4B Corps.

Chairman Jonny Williams of the 4A was just as firm as O’Brien.

“Montgomery County has no flood control system. The Pct. 2 Commissioner has no funds to address any of the downstream tributaries. With the lack of county flood control and funds, the city has to have a system to detain our flood waters,” he said. “The park is just the icing on the cake.”

Information provided by Sebesta at the meeting reflected that cities of similar size have successfully developed park and recreation facilities on as much or less acreage. Two major issues to consider in park development are what will benefit the area most, and where the land will come from, said Sebesta. While the area certainly has its share of pocket parks, a larger community park may become a necessity.

The Magnolia Youth Park offers baseball and softball fields. Currently, seven elementary schools offer area playgrounds and The Depot complex is dedicated to the cultural heritage of the area. While the city has a small park, Magnolia City Park and its corresponding green space at the corner FM 1488 and FM 1774 will change dramatically when FM 1774 is widened.

That proposed expansion is no longer an engineer’s sketch and is imminent for the community with plans being distributed recently to both the Planning Commission and City Council members. Expansion of FM 1774 is slated for 2009 and could coincide with the detention park project.

Tomball Intermediate fifth grade students (from left to right) Natalie Sexton and Karine Pitts-Wilson used toilet paper to measure the distance between the sun and each of the planets in the solar system as part of a recent science project. Once they determined the distance between the planets, they decided which material best represented the size of each planet. They used beach balls, marbles, gold balls, ping pong balls and tennis balls as planets.
Submitted Photo

Resident claims county maintenance crews not cutting it

By Brian Walzel
Tribune Staff

An area resident is claiming the Harris County Maintenance Department isn’t doing their job by keeping clear a backed up ditch and overgrown brush near her home.

Hope Warner, who lives off Dowdell Road just east of Tomball, said she has been asking county maintenance crews to come out and clear a section of overgrown brush that backs up to her home. She has also been asking the county to drain the standing water that has accumulated in a ditch on her property.

Tomball area resident Hope Warner points to a drainage ditch where storm water has accumulated near her home. She claims county maintenance crews are not doing the proper work in her neighborhood.

Warner said the ditch water is a haven for mosquitoes and snakes, which make it nearly impossible for her and her teenage son to go outside.

The requests began in May of 2006, but it wasn’t until Aug. 1, 2006 that maintenance crews showed up at her home, she said. However, crews only cleared the 20 feet or so of brush that lined the side of her home, stopping at her property line.

“Nobody’s doing it,” she said. “I’m sick of trying to deal with the county.”

Warner said the county told her to get the permission of the property owners behind her in order to clear any more sections of overgrown brush. While many of the neighbors have complained about the issue, Warner has yet to seek out their signatures.

Since the August visit, Warner has kept the pressure on the county, hoping crews will return to finish the job.

On Feb. 16, maintenance crews came out again, for just the second time, Warner said, and cleared more debris.

Warner claims to have found drug paraphernalia in the overgrown brush area and said that the brush provides cover for potential thieves. She said her home was broken into through a back door last summer.

However, the county said they have responded to Warner’s requests and are doing all they can.

In an e-mail response to an interview request from the Tribune, the county said “Ms. Warner has placed several requests for ditch maintenance along Dowdell Road since May of 2006. And in response to each of Ms. Warner's requests, Pct. 4’s Spring Road and Bridge Maintenance Facility has performed the necessary actions to fulfill each request. These actions include removing brush, debris, and tree limbs from the ditch; evaluating the grade of the ditch; and verifying the right-of-way boundaries.”

The county also said they have visited the area recently and performed maintenance work around Warner’s home.

“Just prior to Ms. Warner’s phone call to Pct. 4’s Community Assistance Department on Feb. 16, the Spring Road and Bridge Maintenance Facility had removed debris from the ditch,” the county stated in the e-mail. “As a result of this routine maintenance, the Road and Bridge Superintendent has placed requests to evaluate the removal of tree stumps, which at this time do not interfere with mowing; perform another survey to evaluate the grade of the ditches; and remove debris from the right-of-way.”

A public relations representative for the county did not return a phone call as of press time last week to the Tribune seeking further comment on this story.

Warner said she isn’t trying to be a nuisance to the county, she’s just doing what she thinks is right.

“I care about people and I care about this neighborhood,” she said. “I want to make a difference.”

MISD kicks off Partners Campaign for ‘Y’ without walls

By Cari Herr
Tribune Staff

The YMCA of Greater Houston and the Magnolia Independent School District recently kicked off its Partners Campaign and within a week the program met 78 percent of its district goal.

MISD board members heard a presentation from Deborah Miller, chairman of the Magnolia/Tomball YMCA, at the MISD board meeting Feb. 12, held at the Magnolia West High School library.

“The goal assigned to us by the association is $42,000 this year.” As of the meeting, the group had achieved 78 percent of that, Miller said. “The board is very ambitious to get a facility here. For now, we are the ‘Y without walls’ in Magnolia.”

Projections for the Magnolia-Tomball area indicate community needs in excess of $60,000. As a result, the board of directors for the Magnolia/Tomball Family YMCA has set a goal $18,000 higher than the district goal to enable a 25 percent match for after-school programs and camps, as well as funding a center for teenagers.

“We’re very jazzed about what’s going on in Magnolia,” said Miller. A new after school program at Nichol Sawmill Elementary netted 22 new enrollments, and brought the area total for MISD after school programs to more than 200 students.

Contributors who support the Partners Campaign enable area youth the opportunity to participate in programs offered at the YMCA, regardless of circumstances or ability to pay. To become a YMCA partner, log on at www.ymcahouston.org or call 281-356-4077.